Guide Books for the overseas traveller on New Zealand.

Guide Books with general travel information on New Zealand

This is intended to be a short, but helpful list of the guide books that are frequently used by free and independent travelers visiting New Zealand. If you would like some person help with planning your trip? There is a dedicated team of people that will answer your questions daily at Tripadvisor.com

Eyewitness Travel Guide to New Zealand. -
DK Eyewitness Travel Guide New Zealand helps you to get the most from your visit to New Zealand. Whether you are interested in the beaches, national parks, wildlife, forests, sports, gardens, maori culture, museums, flavours of New Zealand - both the local produce and the classical dishes, everything is covered in detail.

Packed with photographs, illustrations and maps, it brilliantly captures the diverse spectrum of both land and city-scapes. Exploring New Zealand becomes a lot easier with the cutaways and floorplans of all major sights, reviews and listings for hotels, restaurants and bars plus walks, scenic routes and thematic tours listed town by town.

We have used these books several times overseas. Travelers favorite

New Zealand South Island NZ Frenzy - by Scott Cook

A companion book to the popular NZ Frenzy - an Adventurer's Guide to New Zealand's Wild Places, this book will get you off the beaten path and enjoy what our South Island has to offer. It will take you where other guide books don't. Written by an American trying to understand the South Island's best spots, walks and tramps with info on obscurity, what to bring and much more.

The New Zealand Travel Guide begins with all the background information you need. You will find articles about whats makes this nation tick, from history and economics to arts, culture food and wine.This new editions features more than 220 full-colour pages. They have added more travel maps and expanded the travel information to cover essential facts, accommodation, transport and activities. All this is rounded out with a comprehensive directory of New Zealand's best travel operators.

Dogs In Residence - Dogs In Residence is a Coffee Table Book come Bed & Breakfast guide with a difference. One of the great reasons for staying at B&Bs is the opportunity to meet people, and most of us prefer to meet like minded people. Dogs are a common denominator, so not only do you get to meet some great dogs but also their owners and other guests who like dogs. In short "doggie people".
This book could act as a guide to places you maybe able to stay with your dogs.

Fodor's New Zealand – Fodor's New Zealand The guide for all budgets, where to eat and explore on and off the beaten path. New compact trim size make these guides even more portable. This book concentrates more on providing practical travel information, how to get there, things to do, rather than accommodation. There is also a Auckland book.

The Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook - Ian Brodie - For those that have been cast by the spell of the Lord of the Rings. This book is a must if you are visiting New Zealand. The maps, photos and discriptions are exceptional. Quote "If you don't have an unusual love for the films or another big reason to get this book, you're probably wasting your money". Printed by Harper Collins Australia You should get it in most NZ book shops.

Let's Go New Zealand - Let's Go - Complete budget coverage, from high-adrenaline adventures to the incomparable Great Walks. A good general guide book. "For independent travelers on a budget, with an emphasis on whatever's hip, fun, or free."

Lonely Planet travel survival kit - aimed at the middle of the road traveler. If you are backpacking this is your book. Encompasses accommodation and sight seeing. A guide book we rarely travel without. 14th Edition September 2008 travelers favorite

AA Visitor Guide - Free Book that you will easily found in shops, information centres and in your rental car. The AA guide books are easy to use and are very comprehensive. There are several publications, for the north and south islands. Recently a Bed and Breakfast edition was introduced that is complimentary in some rental cars. www.aatravel.co.nz

New Zealand Driving Holidays - by Deerace Publishing Limited www.newzealandguidebook.co.nz Written by Donna Blaber - A on the road guide to New Zealand showing the 29 scenic routes with a easy-to-read itinerary format with accompanying maps.

The Rough Guide New Zealand - www.rough guides.com - for the younger traveler. The pictures are great, and where it lists the highlights that is good too. This guide book is taking over the place of the Lonely Planet as the tourist's best friend.

Tramping in New Zealand - lonely planet 52 detailed trail descriptions, including the classic routes and, for the first time, day tramps two-colour contour maps for each tramp
Expert advice on equipment, health and environmentally responsible walking
Includes access, accommodation and travel information
Two-colour contour map
Illustrated guide to New Zealand's wildlife

Hema New Zealand Touring Atlas - Smaller/lighter soft cover atlas designed to make touring New Zealand a breeze. A4 sized dividing the country into 15 double page maps in large scale (1cm = 6km). Also includes road maps of major towns and city centres, driving times, distances and an index of New Zealand place names. Don't leave home without it! http://www.hemamaps.com/
Price: NZ$24.95

Terralink International is another option for very good touring maps of New Zealand.

Try New Zealand's bed and breakfast accommodation it has the reputation as the best in the world.

The huge advantage of bed and breakfast over other forms of accommodation is that they allow you to experience true New Zealand hospitality from the private home owners and hosts

A superbly designed collection of quality bed and breakfasts, self-contained cottages, boutique hotels, rural retreats and lodges independently inspected accommodations.- doubles as a handy travel diary. This is a free and independent travelers favorite choice.

Charming Places to Stay in New Zealand - www.charming-places-to-stay.co.nz - travel wise Ltd. This has a good selection of listings, with the accommodations being well presented, in a easy to follow format. Probably the best collection of homestays and farmstays in New Zealand. This book appears to be the interactive travelers favorites. A easy to use website.

The B&B Directory of New Zealand - www.bed-and-breakfast.co.nz - The Directory covers an increasingly diverse range of accommodation throughout New Zealand's North and South Islands. From bed and breakfasts, lodges or home stays reflecting the warmth of their hosts' hospitality, to self-contained cottages, you will encounter special properties - each and every one with its own particular style. Budget to mid range accommodations. A very easy to use website. The guide book is a ideal size to slip into your bag.

Friar’s guide to New Zealand Accommodation for the discerning traveler. - www.friars.co.nz - John and Lois Allen – Hodder Moa Beckett - Featuring Bed & Breakfasts and Self-catering Accommodation, Self-contained Cottages, Luxury lodges. Getting hold of this outside of New Zealand may be a problem. However it does have a good website. Virtual Tours of properties are available in some listings. A popular book for mid to top of the range accommodations in New Zealand. This book is big, glossy and has excellent photographs. This is a coffee table book. Many travel agents use it for reference.

Jasons - www.jasons.com guide books for 'NZ Motels & Motor Lodges Directory' as well as NZ Business Traveller, plus NZ Holiday Parks, Campgrounds & Backpacker Lodges. With these there are 'What's on guides' for Wellington and Auckland. RoutePlanners covering the main districts. Lastly if you like wine there is the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail Route Planner. Check their extensive range of publications out by clicking here. Jasons

The New Zealand Bed and Breakfast Book - www.bnb.co.nz - Moonshine Press. This is the oldest guide book for B+B's, you may find that some of the more upmarket accommodations are not listed here. The hosts provide the photographs and the write up. Ideal book if you are traveling on a budget, as it lists mainly bottom to mid range accommodations.

AA New Zealand where to stay guide - www.aaguides.co.nz This was predominately for motel, hotel, lodges, apartments. Recently a Bed and Breakfast edition has been released. AA has produced a New Zealand Accommodation 2005 book that covers both islands $NZ9.95. There is also editions for just the north and south islands. Comprehensive books catering to all budgets but mainly to cheaper options. There are holiday homes to rent, B+B's, home stays,and camping ground options.

Online web directories worth considering.

Agoda is one of the fastest-growing online hotel platforms worldwide,
listing hundreds of thousands of hotels in 20+ countries and providing services in 38 different languages.
Agoda.com's award-winning website is fast, and easy to use.

Tripadvisor.com - A favourite website for the experienced traveler. View posted photos of destinations, accommodations, activites etc. Read carefully reviews of hotels, B+Bs etc posted by travelers that have stayed in them. Benefit from feature articles of areas of interest, again these being posted by both local experts and travelers. Book online using 5 of the worlds main online portals. Vacation Rentals is fast becoming the place experienced travelers use, for locations where they plan to stay more than 3 days.

Booking.com- 253,797 properties in 178 countries worldwide. Check out travelers reviews of properties, and book online. Note booking direct with the property may give you options not advertised on Booking.com , as well as this you may get discounted rates.

New Zealand is a easy country to travel in.

Please note that there is two main direct entry points into New Zealand, Christchurch and Auckland.
Christchurch is ideal for those visiting the South Island. For those travelers visiting from Australia, a direct flight into Queenstown can save some time. South Island offers more scenic opportunities that the North island.

With kiwis having a reputation for being friendly and helpful. Before you make a decision on how you will visit our country.

Consider these advantages of having a bed and breakfast holiday.

Unlike in many Hotels, each breakfast is slightly different.
Most hosts know the area intimately. From experiences of other guests they know what will be of interest to you. They are aware of the time saving packages and tricks that make for a full but relaxing holiday.
Breakfast often is shared with other guests, this leads to interesting conversation. Discussions about their experiences, and the hosts knowledge, will help you organize your days ahead to the best of your advantage.
Most bed and breakfasts provide a separate living room with TV which is available to guests. In most properties, it is possible to sit and chat with the proprietor, because they enjoy hearing about your homes and travels just as much, as you about theirs.

Some Bed and Breakfasts are located in residental areas, this gives you the chance to see the way of life that we New Zealanders are so fortunate to have. Others are in the countryside, or on farms, farming being one of our primary industries.
Your hosts are welcoming you into their home so please respect their property and privacy. In doing so you will find that you will be treated like a very good family friend.

If you are likely to arrive early or late at a Bed and Breakfast, by letting the host know in advance, you are enabling them to make preparations for you.